Posted by BC on 3/7/2008, 1:34 pm, in reply to "Re: Chapter three part two"
24.207.121.197
Ha ha ha, thanks, with regards to the punctuation, that's the story of my life, my mom's an editor by profession and yet I couldn't do it if my life depended on it.
ironically, at times it almost has. ha ha ha.
when I edit Knife's stuff I mostley help with Lingo in general for Holmes, Watson and Moriarty and mark anything else I spot. word of advice, if you ever need help with a story, don't ask me to help you with it.
Best,
BC
--Previous Message--
: Oh excellent! excellent, excellent! (just to
: drive home the point...)
: One nitpicky thing, careful with your
: punctuation in dialogue, sometimes their
: sentences don't start off capitalised or are
: missing a period at the end.
:
: --Previous Message--
: They spent the rest of the day dusting and
: nailing shingles back on. Theodore and
: Watson had a good laugh when, after locking
: himself in his room for a few minutes,
: Holmes emerged wearing overalls, and a blue
: cotton shirt. A bushy black mustache not
: unlike that of Watson’s in the Sidney Paget
: Illustrations graced his upper lip, matching
: perfectly the color of his black greasy
: haired wig.
:
: A bucket full of nails and another of roof
: tack were held in the fingers of his right
: hand.
:
: The ‘roof repair man’ then stated with a
: particular jaunty swagger and a harsh
: British accent that he would need someone to
: pass up boards and shingles when he returned
: from the lumber supplier’s
:
: Then much to the entertainment of the two
: onlookers, who were having rather a hard
: time of controlling their amused facial
: expressions, Holmes clomped out of the room.
:
: Theodore waited until the sound of his thick
: nail bottomed boots had completely
: disappeared and then turned to Watson.
:
: “Can he really fix the roof?” He asked
: curiously.
:
: “I have never seen him attempt it; I have
: however, complete confidence in his
: abilities.”
:
: “Why did he dress up? Why not just go as
: himself?”
:
: “Well, two reasons really, it is due partly
: to his creative spirit, he never could
: resist a chance to alter his identity. But
: also I think that it is perhaps a bit
: dangerous for him to be recognized at
: present.”
:
: Theodore nearly tripped over his own foot,
: “you mean I’m putting him in danger, because
: of the roof!”
:
: “You needn’t worry my boy” Watson assured
: him soothingly “whatever it is that he is
: working on has occupied his attention for
: some weeks now at which times he has left
: the house every day in one disguise or
: another and has returned safe and sound at
: the end of each.”
:
: “If you say so sir,” he allowed reluctantly
:
: He and Watson continued to clean the entire
: time Holmes was away on his particular
: errand, it was about six thirty by the time
: he returned with a huge load of shingles and
: newly cut lumber slung over his shoulder.
: The room was just beginning to look vaguely
: recognizable.
:
: Most of the dust was gone, and Theodore
: could now make out many of the details: The
: two famous armchairs, the mantelpiece with
: the jack knife - which miraculously was
: still sticking out, undisturbed from the
: centre - along with its impaled telegrams,
: the various paintings and pictures on the
: walls, the bullet holes proclaiming the
: identity of the present queen.
:
: So on and so fourth, but Theodore’s favorite
: thing was the shelf of record books, newly
: dusted with extreme care by him, the leather
: gleaming in the now fading evening light.
:
: Theodore was decidedly relieved to see the
: detective and was glad to have made some
: progress at clearing away the mess. He
: still felt rather guilty about it and the
: danger he was putting Holmes in. he had been
: imagining the newspaper headlines all day,
: ‘Famous Detective Murdered’ ‘Mystery
: Surrounding Sleuths Death’ ‘Roof Repairman
: Dead, Reason Unknown.’
:
: But here he was safe and sound, and just
: about to climb back out onto the roof.
:
: They continued to work on their assigned
: tasks until about 10:30pm Theodore passing
: up wood and shingles with his good arm to
: Holmes who was still, as made perfect sense,
: in his repairman’s garb, minus wig and
: mustache.
:
: Watson occupied himself taking bundles of
: ceiling plaster and accumulated dust,
: putting them in bags and taking them out
: into the street to be disposed of at a later
: date. All and all by the said time
: everything was back to its original state,
: every detail cleaned, polished and dusted.
:
: And so it was that even Mrs. Hudson - a
: sweet elderly lady with tidy white hair set
: in a bun at the back of her head and round
: thick lens spectacles sitting over jolly
: blue eyes - upon coming up to inspect the
: progress made on repairing her roof, had to
: admit that the repairs had gone a great deal
: better then she had expected.
:
: Holmes winked at Theodore, smiling an amused
: smile, it was late, and so they all retired.
:
: But just as Theodore was getting into bed
: there was a knock at the door to his room,
: identical to the one that morning.
:
: “Come in Mr. Holmes” he said, suppressing a
: self-satisfied grin as the aforementioned
: detective stepped into the room.
:
: “I see you have been studying my methods Mr.
: Trent, indeed you were telling the truth
: about your extensive reading into Watson’s
: little tales.”
:
: Theodore couldn’t tell if Holmes was kidding
: or not, he didn’t think so…because hearing
: that had had the effect of making him feel
: warm and fuzzy all over.
:
: “I was wondering if you would mind remaining
: awake an extra moment or so, I have a
: question I wish to put to you”
:
: Theodore was confused, surely Holmes had
: already interrogated him enough when they
: had first met…and again later when Theodore
: had asked about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
:
: To his credit, the detective had spent a
: good hour explaining to Theodore how Watson
: sent off all his stories to a literary
: agent, Dr. Arthur Doyle, who the good Doctor
: had sworn to secrecy concerning the works.
: He was given the credit for the penmanship
: of the stories, as Watson preferred to gain
: nothing by them save only the financial
: income. Instead, handing the wheel over to
: a good friend, one who would see to it that
: the stories were published where the public
: would be sure to take note of them.
:
: It explained a lot of things really: How
: Holmes and Watson had slowly turned into
: fictional characters over the years. Fading
: away little by little into the public
: imagination like some half forgotten dream,
: why Doyle had been given a knighthood for
: some other accomplishment them writing ‘The
: Adventure’s Of Sherlock Holmes’. A fact
: that had always interested Theodore…and to
: think, this whole chain of events had begun
: in a tree, in a different time, in a
: different place with a book which now, ratty
: and dejected, had no doubt graced the
: interior of Holmes’ safe…
:
: The latter was only conjecture though, as In
: fact, it was with this book in his hand that
: Holmes now stood in the room dwarfing its
: other occupant with his height.
:
: “What would you like to ask me Mr. Holmes?”
: Theodore enquired as politely as he possibly
: could.
:
: Holmes handed him ‘The Sign Of The Four’ and
: indicated the spine and back cover which,
: now that he looked at it, seemed to be
: covered in a purplish discoloration.
:
: “When you explained what had happened to
: you, you neglected to mention the kind of
: weapon it was that your attackers used,
: now,” he said cutting Theodore off as he
: opened his mouth to reply.
:
: “I have examined every inch of this volume
: thoroughly with both a microscope and a
: magnifying lens and can find no explanation
: for the very particular burn marks which
: dominate the better part of the back cover
: as well as the spine. Therefore I must
: conclude that you have, on purpose, or as is
: more likely, accidentally, for one purpose
: or another, withheld that knowledge from me,
: I might also add that the same type of burns
: cover the front of your Jumper and the
: majority of the fingers of your right hand.”
:
: ‘Wow, he’s been busy’ “Well sir…” Theodore
: began hesitantly “I didn’t mean to hide it
: from you. It’s just that I didn’t
: understand it either, it was…Mr. Holmes, it
: was a beam of light.”
:
:
:
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